Environment

Ocean water in parts of the world is changing. Its chemistry is very slowly becoming more acidic, like lemon juice, and less alkaline, a la baking soda.

The change so far is small — you wouldn't notice if you swam in the ocean or even drank it (not recommended, in any case). But numerous scientific studies show that it could get worse. One reason is that as humans produce more carbon dioxide, a lot is absorbed into the oceans. That makes the water more acidic.

The United States imports more than $100 billion of food every year from farms across the globe, often in the big metal shipping containers you see on cargo ships. Now, entrepreneurs are using those shipping containers to grow local produce.

"Freight Farms" are shipping containers modified to grow stacks of hydroponic plants and vegetables. It's a new way for small-scale farmers to grow crops year-round in a computer-controlled environment, even in the middle of the city.

Last week, South Florida's nature came alive for me as much through sound as through sight: the flapping of wings as a great blue heron soared up over a river; the plashing of water when an alligator slipped off the riverbank to swim away; the huffing of a manatee taking a breath at the water's surface before she slowly sank again to the river bottom to munch grass.

UPDATE: Wednesday night, a Bayfield County Board vote of 8 to 5 brought the adoption of a one-year moratorium. It creates a study committee made up of six county elected and three community members; the latter will be selected through an application process. The moratorium applies to all facilities with over 1,000 animal units, unless the operation has established vested rights. It remains unclear whether the Iowa-based Reicks group falls in the "vested rights" category, because it submitted applications to both Bayfield County and the Wisconsin DNR before the February 18 county board decision.

ORIGINAL STORY: Wisconsin has plenty of cow CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations), but an Iowa-based company wants to start the first huge hog operation in Bayfield County.